Atlanta

ATLANTA -- A Gwinnett County Grand Jury indicted Levon Chett Barrett on charges of stealing $85,700 in retirement payments from the Teachers' Retirement System of Georgia, Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens office reported.

Barrett is the son of a retired Atlanta school teacher who began receiving retirement benefits in May 1997, according to the case. The benefits were electronically transferred into Ms. Barrett's checking account. She died in September 2007.

However, TRS continued paying retirement benefits until it discovered Ms. Barrett's death in February 2010 via a call from the Atlanta Public Schools' Human Resources Office, the case alleges.

An investigation revealed Levan Barrett stole the funds from his deceased mother's account through use of a PIN-based financial transaction card, either by withdrawing funds directly from ATMs or by using the card to conduct in-person, telephonic, or on-line credit/debit financial transactions, the case alleges.

When interviewed the by Georgia Bureau of Investigation in July 2012, the defendant admitted to withdrawing and using funds from his mother's account after her death.

Between October 2007 and February 2010, the defendant stole $85,712 in TRS funds from his mother's bank account, according to the charges.